The Osun State Police Command has recovered another corpse from the premises of the Mayfair Motor Park in Ile-Ife, bringing the number of people killed in the shooting incident at the park to two.
The state police spokesperson, Abiodun Ojelabi, disclosed this on Monday as the remains of Olalekan Oyeyemi, a chieftain of the Accord Party in Osun State popularly known as Emir Ajagungbade, were buried at his newly completed residence in the Agunbelewo area of Osogbo.
Emir was reportedly shot dead on Sunday during a clash involving him and a group led by another leader of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), identified by the nickname Sibi, at the Mayfair Motor Park.
A video circulating on social media showed Emir lying face down in a pool of blood inside a vehicle after the incident.
Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, later confirmed Emir’s death in a statement by his spokesperson, Olawale Rasheed, and directed the Commissioner of Police, Ibrahim Zungura, to identify and arrest those responsible.
The killing has reportedly been linked to moves by some members of the transport union to install Emir as the next Osun State chairman of the NURTW.
Giving an update on the incident on Monday, Ojelabi said the motor park had been shut down following the violence.
“The governor has decided that the park should not operate. The park has not been operating. A corpse was also recovered by the police, and it has been deposited at the morgue,” he said.
He added that the case had been transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department for further investigation.
“Those being mentioned in connection with the crime should go to the nearest police station to report themselves rather than going to social media to defend themselves.
“The Commissioner of Police has promised that all those involved will be apprehended and face the law, irrespective of who they are,” Ojelabi said.
Meanwhile, Emir’s remains were buried in accordance with traditional rites at his residence in Agunbelewo, with close family members and traditional priests in attendance.
His associates, who accompanied his remains from the Osun State University Teaching Hospital, Osogbo, were reportedly asked to wait outside while the traditional burial rites were performed.
Before the remains were released from the hospital morgue, suspected hoodlums said to be associates of the deceased allegedly attacked two hospital workers after discovering that they were recording the proceedings with their phones.
Additional police vehicles conveying operatives were later observed at the hospital, helping to restore normalcy.
Meanwhile, the Osun State Commissioner for Transportation, Sesan Oyedele, has denied claims that he summoned NURTW leaders to his residence in Modakeke on Sunday and told them that the state government had endorsed Emir as the next chairman of the union.
Two NURTW leaders in Ile-Ife, identified as Gbadagesin and Kazeem Akeem, had alleged in videos circulating on social media that Oyedele summoned them to his residence and informed them that the state government had endorsed Emir for the position.
Oyedele dismissed the claims, saying those who spoke about the meeting were not present when the issue of the NURTW chairmanship was discussed.
He explained that members of the transport union had contacted him after a meeting in Osogbo the previous week and requested to see him.
According to him, he initially asked them to visit his office on Monday but they opted to meet him at his residence on Sunday morning.
Oyedele said the union members told him they had agreed that Emir should become the next NURTW chairman and sought his support.
He said he told them he would present their position to Governor Adeleke, the Chief of Staff and other relevant officials when the governor returned to the state.
Oyedele said Emir was killed about two hours after the union members left his residence.
He appealed to residents to remain calm, assuring them that efforts were underway to resolve the crisis.
